The Fountains of Paradise
Encyclopedia
The Fountains of Paradise is a Hugo and Nebula Award–winning 1979 novel by Arthur C. Clarke
. Set in the 22nd century, it describes the construction of a space elevator
. This "orbital tower" is a giant structure rising from the ground and linking with a satellite in geostationary orbit
at the height of approximately 36,000 kilometers (approx. 22,300 miles). Such a structure would be used to raise payloads to orbit without having to use rocket
s, making it much more cost effective.
Morgan is approached by a Mars-based consortium to develop the elevator on Mars as part of a massive terraforming
project. To demonstrate the viability of the technology, Morgan tries to run a thin cable of ‘hyperfilament’ from an orbital factory down to ground level at Taprobane. A monk at the monastery, a former astrophysicist who is a mathematical genius, tries to sabotage the attempt by creating an artificial hurricane using a hijacked weather-control satellite. His attempt is in fact successful, but in an ironic twist, the hurricane blows butterflies to the peak of the mountain. This fulfills an ancient prophecy that causes the monks to leave the mountain. The tower can be built on Earth after all.
Forced to resign his position for acting beyond his authority, Morgan joins the Martian consortium named 'Astroengineering' and construction of the Tower commences.
Several years later, the Earth-based tower is well under construction and travel up and down — both for tourists and for transfer to rocket ships — is being trialled.
An astrophysicist and a group of his students and tower staff are stranded in an emergency chamber six hundred kilometres up after an accident with their transport capsule. They have limited food and air supplies. Whilst a laser
on a weather-control satellite is able to supply heat, it is imperative to provide them with filter masks against the increasing carbon dioxide and also with food, air, and medical supplies (a theme earlier explored in Clarke's novel The Sands of Mars
).
Despite his rapidly failing health, Morgan asserts his right to travel up the tower in a one-man 'spider' to rescue them. He nearly fails, with limited battery power, but ultimately succeeds in reaching the chamber. As Morgan surveys the progress of his brainchild, his heart disease claims his life.
A short epilogue envisages Earth many centuries later, after the sun has cooled and Earth has been depopulated, with humans now living on the terraformed inner planets. Several space elevators lead to a giant "circumterran" space station that encircles Earth at geostationary altitude. The analogy with a wheel is evident: the space station itself is the wheel rim, Earth is the axle, and the six equidistant space elevators the spoke
s.
Other subplots include human colonization of the solar system and the first contact
with extraterrestrial intelligence
.
Clarke envisions a microscopically thin but strong "hyperfilament" that makes the elevator possible. Although the hyperfilament is constructed from "continuous pseudo-one-dimensional diamond
crystal", Clarke later expressed his belief that another type of carbon, Buckminsterfullerene
, would play the role of hyperfilament in a real space elevator. The latest developments
in carbon nanotube
technology bring the orbital elevator closer to possible realisation.
)", south of its real world location. The ruins of the palace at Yakkagala as described in the book very closely match the real-life ruins at Sigiriya
in Sri Lanka. The mountain on which the space elevator is built is called Sri Kanda in the book, and bears a strong resemblance to the real mountain Sri Pada.
Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
. Set in the 22nd century, it describes the construction of a space elevator
Space elevator
A space elevator, also known as a geostationary orbital tether or a beanstalk, is a proposed non-rocket spacelaunch structure...
. This "orbital tower" is a giant structure rising from the ground and linking with a satellite in geostationary orbit
Geostationary orbit
A geostationary orbit is a geosynchronous orbit directly above the Earth's equator , with a period equal to the Earth's rotational period and an orbital eccentricity of approximately zero. An object in a geostationary orbit appears motionless, at a fixed position in the sky, to ground observers...
at the height of approximately 36,000 kilometers (approx. 22,300 miles). Such a structure would be used to raise payloads to orbit without having to use rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
s, making it much more cost effective.
Plot summary
In the 22nd century, Dr Vannevar Morgan is a famous structural engineer who hopes to develop the 'space elevator' from a theoretical concept to reality and enlists the resources of his employers to carry out experiments. But the only suitable starting point (Earth station) for the elevator lies at the summit of a mountain in Taprobane occupied by an ancient order of Buddhist monks, who implacably oppose the plan.Morgan is approached by a Mars-based consortium to develop the elevator on Mars as part of a massive terraforming
Terraforming
Terraforming of a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to those of Earth, in order to make it habitable by terrestrial organisms.The term is sometimes used more generally as a...
project. To demonstrate the viability of the technology, Morgan tries to run a thin cable of ‘hyperfilament’ from an orbital factory down to ground level at Taprobane. A monk at the monastery, a former astrophysicist who is a mathematical genius, tries to sabotage the attempt by creating an artificial hurricane using a hijacked weather-control satellite. His attempt is in fact successful, but in an ironic twist, the hurricane blows butterflies to the peak of the mountain. This fulfills an ancient prophecy that causes the monks to leave the mountain. The tower can be built on Earth after all.
Forced to resign his position for acting beyond his authority, Morgan joins the Martian consortium named 'Astroengineering' and construction of the Tower commences.
Several years later, the Earth-based tower is well under construction and travel up and down — both for tourists and for transfer to rocket ships — is being trialled.
An astrophysicist and a group of his students and tower staff are stranded in an emergency chamber six hundred kilometres up after an accident with their transport capsule. They have limited food and air supplies. Whilst a laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
on a weather-control satellite is able to supply heat, it is imperative to provide them with filter masks against the increasing carbon dioxide and also with food, air, and medical supplies (a theme earlier explored in Clarke's novel The Sands of Mars
The Sands of Mars
The Sands of Mars is Arthur C. Clarke's first published science fiction novel. While he was already popular as a short story writer and as a magazine contributor, The Sands of Mars was also a prelude to Clarke's becoming one of the world's foremost writers of science fiction novels. The story...
).
Despite his rapidly failing health, Morgan asserts his right to travel up the tower in a one-man 'spider' to rescue them. He nearly fails, with limited battery power, but ultimately succeeds in reaching the chamber. As Morgan surveys the progress of his brainchild, his heart disease claims his life.
A short epilogue envisages Earth many centuries later, after the sun has cooled and Earth has been depopulated, with humans now living on the terraformed inner planets. Several space elevators lead to a giant "circumterran" space station that encircles Earth at geostationary altitude. The analogy with a wheel is evident: the space station itself is the wheel rim, Earth is the axle, and the six equidistant space elevators the spoke
Spoke
A spoke is one of some number of rods radiating from the center of a wheel , connecting the hub with the round traction surface....
s.
Major characters
- Dr. Vannevar Morgan. A structural engineer and Chief Engineer (land) of Terran Construction Corporation. He has seen through many major projects, including the GibraltarGibraltarGibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
bridge (another fictional engineering triumph).
- Maxine Duval. Famous journalist and sometime Professor of electronic journalism. She is the first person to ride up the tower in a one-person "Spider" to prove that the technology is practical.
- Sheik Abdullah. President, and effectively dictator, of the Autonomous North African Republic, which has backed many of Morgan’s projects.
- Venerable Anandatissa Bodhidharma Mahanayake Thero. Incumbent leader of the Sri Kanda temple.
- Dr Choam Goldberg, aka Venerable Parakarma. Astrophysicist and expert in the mathematics of Micrometeorology.
Themes
The main theme of the novel is preceded, and to some extent juxtaposed with, the story of the life and death of King Kashyapa of Sri Lanka (fictionalised as King Kalidasa). It foreshadows the exploits of Vannevar Morgan in his determination to realise the space elevator.Other subplots include human colonization of the solar system and the first contact
First contact (science fiction)
First contact is a common science fiction theme about the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life, or of any sentient race's first encounter with another one....
with extraterrestrial intelligence
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
.
Clarke envisions a microscopically thin but strong "hyperfilament" that makes the elevator possible. Although the hyperfilament is constructed from "continuous pseudo-one-dimensional diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
crystal", Clarke later expressed his belief that another type of carbon, Buckminsterfullerene
Fullerene
A fullerene is any molecule composed entirely of carbon, in the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, or tube. Spherical fullerenes are also called buckyballs, and they resemble the balls used in association football. Cylindrical ones are called carbon nanotubes or buckytubes...
, would play the role of hyperfilament in a real space elevator. The latest developments
Timeline of carbon nanotubes
-1952:* Radushkevich and Lukyanovich publish a paper in the Soviet Journal of Physical Chemistry showing hollow graphitic carbon fibers that are 50 nanometers in diameter.-1960:...
in carbon nanotube
Carbon nanotube
Carbon nanotubes are allotropes of carbon with a cylindrical nanostructure. Nanotubes have been constructed with length-to-diameter ratio of up to 132,000,000:1, significantly larger than for any other material...
technology bring the orbital elevator closer to possible realisation.
Setting
The story is set in the fictional equatorial island country of Taprobane, which Clarke has described as "about ninety percent congruent with the island of Ceylon (now Sri LankaSri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
)", south of its real world location. The ruins of the palace at Yakkagala as described in the book very closely match the real-life ruins at Sigiriya
Sigiriya
Sigiriya is a large stone and ancient rock fortress and palace ruin in the central Matale District of Sri Lanka, surrounded by the remains of an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs, and other structures...
in Sri Lanka. The mountain on which the space elevator is built is called Sri Kanda in the book, and bears a strong resemblance to the real mountain Sri Pada.
Similarities with other works of Clarke
- In the middle of Fountains, an unmanned robotic spaceship of alien origin, called "Starglider/Starholme" by Clarke, passes through our solar system. This situation is similar to Rendezvous with RamaRendezvous with RamaRendezvous with Rama is a novel by Arthur C. Clarke first published in 1972. Set in the 22nd century, the story involves a cylindrical alien starship that enters Earth's solar system...
, though the ship exterior and its interactions with humans is very different.
- The first third of 3001: The Final Odyssey3001: The Final Odyssey3001: The Final Odyssey is a science fiction novel by Sir Arthur C. Clarke. It is the fourth and final book in Clarke's Space Odyssey series.-Plot summary:...
describes details of the interior of the ring habitat that encircles earth, and is connected to earth's surface with 4 space elevators. At the end of Fountains, we see this ring habitat for the first time - though it has 6 space elevators rather than 4 of 3001.
- At the end of Fountains, Earth turns into an icy wasteland because the Sun has cooled. The same situation also occurs in the first story of History Lesson.
- The alien we meet near the end of Fountains is a somewhat more physical form of the Swarm - the aliens that land on primeval earth in The Possessed.
- A space elevatorSpace elevatorA space elevator, also known as a geostationary orbital tether or a beanstalk, is a proposed non-rocket spacelaunch structure...
is also constructed in the course of Clarke's final novel (co-written with Frederik PohlFrederik PohlFrederik George Pohl, Jr. is an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years — from his first published work, "Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna" , to his most recent novel, All the Lives He Led .He won the National Book Award in 1980 for his novel Jem...
), The Last TheoremThe Last TheoremThe Last Theorem is a 2008 science fiction novel written by Arthur C. Clarke and Frederik Pohl. It was first published in the United Kingdom by HarperVoyager in July 2008, and in the United States by Del Rey Books in August 2008...
.
Awards and nominations
- Winner, Nebula AwardNebula AwardThe Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
for Best NovelNebula Award for Best NovelWinners of the Nebula Award for Best Novel, awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The stated year is that of publication; awards are given in the following year.- Winners and other nominees :...
- 1979 - Nominee, British Science Fiction Association Award - 1979
- Winner, Hugo AwardHugo AwardThe Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for Best NovelHugo Award for Best NovelThe Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
- 1980 - Nominee, Locus AwardLocus AwardThe Locus Award is a literary award established in 1971 and presented to winners of Locus magazine's annual readers' poll. Currently, the Locus Awards are presented at an annual banquet...
for Best Science Fiction NovelLocus Award for Best Science Fiction NovelWinners of the Locus Award for Best SF Novel, awarded by the Locus magazine. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year....
- 1980
External links
- Fountains of Paradise at Worlds Without End